Chapter 99 - Ask for permission
After that, I slept like a log.
When morning finally came, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and slowly got out of bed.
I headed to the bathroom, took a shower, and freshened myself up before neatly making my bed.
Once everything was done, I left my room.
And the moment I stepped outside...
I saw Amy waiting nearby.
I walked toward her.
"Hey, did you wait long?"
Amy looked at me and smiled.
"Oh, you finally got up, sleepyhead."
"No, not really."
"It’s only been about ten minutes."
"If you hadn’t come out in another ten minutes, I was planning to wake you up myself."
I smiled.
"Thanks for waiting."
She nodded.
Then the two of us walked toward the dining hall.
When we entered, we saw Mom, the Empress, and the rest of the group already sitting around the table.
We greeted everyone before taking our seats.
The Empress looked toward me.
"So, what are your plans for today, Gray?"
"Your big sister told me she’s going to train with Elena."
"What about you?"
I looked at her.
"I want to train too, but..."
I paused for a moment.
Then an idea came to mind.
"Is there a dungeon nearby?"
"It’s been a while since I went into one."
The Empress looked at me in surprise.
Then she glanced toward Mom.
Mom also looked at me.
"A dungeon?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"I’ve been training a lot lately, so I thought it would be good to go into a dungeon and test everything against actual monsters."
Before either of them could respond, Luna’s eyes immediately lit up.
"That’s a great idea!"
"Mom, can I go too?"
Mom and the Empress looked at us.
"Hold on."
"We haven’t even given you permission yet, and you two are already planning the trip?"
I looked toward Mom with my most innocent expression.
"Mom..."
"Can I go?"
Amy, who was sitting beside me, almost spat out her water.
She immediately reached over and lightly smacked me on the head.
"Hey!"
"What are you doing?"
She narrowed her eyes at me.
"Are you seriously trying to use those puffy eyes to get Mom’s permission?"
I rubbed my head.
"I wasn’t doing anything."
Amy ignored me and turned toward Mom.
"Mom, how about this?"
"I’ll take Gray and Elena ruin hunting."
"It’ll be more fun than simply training, and Gray can learn a lot from it."
I immediately looked at Amy.
"Ruin hunting?"
"What’s that?"
A small smirk appeared on her face.
"It’s somewhat similar to the Secret Realm the Empress mentioned yesterday."
"Except it’s nowhere near as powerful."
"There are still valuable things hidden inside, though."
"If we’re lucky, we might even find something extremely useful."
"The interesting part is that you never know what kind of loot you’ll find."
My eyes immediately lit up.
"Really?"
"There’s something like that?"
"That sounds way more fun than a dungeon!"
"Why didn’t you tell me about it earlier?"
Luna looked just as excited.
"Are there monsters to hunt too?"
Her eyes sparkled.
Amy looked between the two of us.
Then she sighed.
"Don’t get your hopes up too much."
"There are traps inside."
"Some of them can kill you."
She paused.
"And yes..."
"There are monsters too."
My eyes somehow became even brighter.
"Wow."
"That sounds like so much fun!"
"Why were you hiding something this interesting from me?"
Amy placed a hand against her forehead.
"You’re hopeless."
Everyone around the table laughed.
The Empress and Mom exchanged helpless looks.
After considering Amy’s proposal for a moment, they finally sighed.
"Fine."
"You can go."
"But you must bring a powerful guard with you."
"We’re not letting you wander around dangerous ruins without protection."
Amy nodded.
"Understood."
Luna and Elena also nodded excitedly.
Then Isabella suddenly spoke.
"Mom, I’m going too."
The Empress looked at her in surprise.
But only for a moment.
She quickly understood what Isabella was thinking.
"Alright."
"Have fun."
"I’ll leave them in your hands."
"But you still need to bring guards with you."
Isabella nodded.
"Of course."
The Empress smiled.
She knew exactly how responsible her eldest daughter was.
Isabella was talented, mature, and capable of taking care of herself and the others.
Because of that, the Empress had little reason to worry.
Luna and Elena immediately looked toward Isabella.
"Really?"
"Big Sister, you’re actually coming with us?"
Isabella simply smiled and nodded.
"Of course."
The two girls immediately became even more excited.
After that, we continued eating breakfast.
Occasionally, we discussed our upcoming trip.
Where we would go.
What kind of ruins we might encounter.
And what we might find inside.
Once breakfast was finished, Mom arranged for Selena to accompany us.
The Empress also assigned one of her most trusted guards to protect Isabella and the others.
Everything was finally prepared.
Just as I was about to leave, Astrid called out to me.
"Gray."
I turned around and walked toward her.
She handed me two small objects.
They resembled thin sticks.
One was pitch black.
The other was a dull gray.
Astrid held them out toward me.
"Take these."
I looked at them curiously.
"What are they?"
"These are emergency summoning items."
She pointed toward the gray one.
"This one is for me."
Then she pointed toward the black one.
"And this one is for the Matriarch."
"Amy already has a pair."
"If you ever encounter a situation you cannot handle..."
"Break one of them."
"We’ll come to you immediately."
I carefully took the two items.
"Thank you, Astrid."
She smiled and gently brushed my hair with her hand.
"The Matriarch was the one who ordered me to give these to you."
"If you encounter a situation you cannot solve..."
"Don’t hesitate."
"Your life is more important than anything else."
I nodded seriously.
"I understand."
Astrid smiled.
"Good."
"Remember that."
I stored both items inside my Space Storage.
Then I waved goodbye to Astrid before heading toward Amy.
The ruin-hunting trip was finally about to begin.
Amy noticed me running toward her and smiled.
"Alright, Gray."
"Let’s prepare to leave."
I stopped beside her.
"So, what do I need to bring?"
"I already have most things inside my Space Storage."
Amy sighed.
"Okay."
"How about you go change into something suitable?"
"Come back downstairs when you’re done."
"I’ll be ready by then."
I stared at her in horror.
"What do you mean by ’I’ll be ready by then’?"
Amy blinked in confusion.
"What?"
"That sounds dangerous."
She tilted her head.
"What are you talking about?"
I looked at her seriously.
"Last time you said that..."
"You took almost an hour to get ready."
"I nearly fell asleep waiting for you."
Amy immediately reached over and smacked me on the head.
"You brat!"
"What do you know about getting ready?"
"You probably just grab the first clothes you see and put them on."
I rubbed my head and frowned.
"But why do you need to spend so much time choosing clothes?"
"We’re going to fight monsters."
"They’re not going to care about your fashion."
Amy raised her hand again.
I immediately stepped backward.
"Hey!"
"I’m only telling the truth!"
"Why are you hitting me?"
Everyone around us burst into laughter.
Elena finally stepped forward.
"Alright, Amy."
"Let’s go get ready."
"If we hurry, we might be able to reach the ruins before lunch."
Amy stopped mid-motion.
She slowly lowered her hand.
Then she nodded.
"Fine."
She pointed at me.
"You brat."
"Consider yourself lucky today."
"But if you ever make fun of my fashion again..."
"I’ll deal with you myself."
I immediately looked away.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Your fashion is torture."
Amy’s eye twitched.
I immediately shut my mouth.
Luna, who had been watching the entire exchange, walked over to me.
"So..."
"What are you bringing with you?"
I gave her a confident smile.
"I have everything."
"Food."
"Juice."
"Emergency supplies."
"Medical supplies."
"Extra clothes."
"Various tools."
"And plenty of other things."
Luna stared at me for several seconds.
Then she asked,
"Are you planning to go on a survival expedition?"
I grinned.
"Who knows?"
"When I need something, it’ll be useful to have it."
"And I have more than enough space to carry everything."
Luna sighed helplessly.
"Of course you do."
"Being able to store almost anything has apparently turned you into a walking storage room."
I smiled proudly.
"Being prepared is important."
Luna shook her head.
"Alright."
"I’m going to change too."
"How about we meet in fifteen minutes?"
I nodded.
"Okay."
Then I paused.
"Wait..."
"Fifteen minutes?"
I stared at her suspiciously.
"Isn’t that a little too long?"
A horrible thought suddenly crossed my mind.
I slowly widened my eyes.
"Don’t tell me..."
"You’re the same as Amy."
I looked at her with exaggerated horror.
Luna stared at me.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then she remembered something.
She was my fiancée now.
A mischievous smile appeared on her face.
She lightly smacked me on the back.
"Ow!"
I stumbled forward dramatically.
"How could you hit an innocent person like me?"
Luna immediately burst into laughter.
"You deserved that."
I smiled.
"See?"
"You’re already becoming like Amy."
She raised her hand again.
I immediately shut my mouth.
"Okay."
"I’ll stop."
Luna laughed again.
Then the two of us headed toward our rooms to change.
Our ruin-hunting trip was finally about to begin.